RFID-tracked cars coming to Australia & NZ?

RFID-tracked cars could be on the horizon, as Austroads, the association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities, investigates how best to deploy the technology.

Austroads has kicked off a project examining RFID but as yet there has been no firm decision on how to use the tiny tags, according to a spokesperson.

"At the moment we're just looking at what RFID could offer," the spokesperson said.

According to Kevin McIssac, advisor at analyst firm IBRS, one way to go would be to embed RFID technology into car registration stickers. Within two years, this would mean everyone would have an RFID on their car so it could be used to pay tolls, administer parking and aid law enforcement.

He conjectured that Sydney's CBD congestion could also be tackled, by using the RFID stickers to impose a congestion charge when cars enter the city. A similar system already exists in London using licence plate readers instead of RFID.

"We would have an enabling technology that could be used in a variety of ways," said McIsaac, who pointed out that the biggest problem would likely involve the privacy of car owners.

The investigation of RFID was not triggered by any particular event, according to the Austroads spokesperson: "We keep abreast of new technology and look at what developments are occurring." The project will commence and be completed within the next financial year, the spokesperson said.